ISBNPA 2007: Marketing, serious games and nanny states. Observations from the sixth annual meeting of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, Oslo 2007

Johannes Brug

doi:10.1186/1479-5868-4-37

Abstract

This commentary paper provides a selective overview of topics addressed at the sixth annual meeting of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA). With 31 symposiums, 42 free paper sessions and 236 poster presentations ISBNPA 2007 provided a comprehensive overview of the state of the art and of new avenues for behavioral nutrition and physical activity research. Research presented at the conference helps to identify and specify important nutrition and physical activity behaviors for health promotion, as well as the correlates, predictors and determinants of these behaviors, and to build and test intervention strategies that go beyond traditional health education. ISBNPA 2007 also indicates that ISBNPA should strive to become more international by inclusion of more scientists from countries outside North America, Western Europe and Australia. ISBNPA should maintain its encouragement of research that is firmly rooted in behavioral theory and research that goes beyond applying cross-sectional research designs, and that addresses the most important public health issues associated with behavioral nutrition and physical activity.

Highlights

The sixth annual meeting of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity was held in Oslo June 22 to 24, 2007
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2007, 4:37 http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/4/1/37 opportunities to share our research with colleagues from other countries and to learn from their studies
The final keynote of ISBNPA 2007 was the keynote debate between Drs Nick Cavill of the University of Oxford, UK, and Sheila Weiss of the National Restaurant Association, USA. This debate, entitled "Maintaining energy balance: Nanny knows best?", addressed policy issues: should we strive for a 'Nanny state' where personal choice in behavioral nutrition and physical activity is further restricted by government regulations in order to curb the obesity epidemic? Cavill argued that a certain level of regulation is and has always been an integral part of public health policy, and that the obesity epidemic warrants stronger government-enforced regulations to promote and facilitate healthier choices

Summary

Background

The sixth annual meeting of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity was held in Oslo June 22 to 24, 2007. As president-elect I was responsible for the program and busy with organizational issues during the conference, and I could not attend as many sessions as I wanted. This paper is not based on a representative, but rather on a highly selective sample of keynotes, symposiums, oral papers and posters presented at the conference [1]. Even this narrow selection of presentations that I was able to attend, indicates that our annual meeting covered what ISBNPA is all about: International focus, a Society of researchers, with a focus on Behavioral research, related to Nutrition and Physical Activity

Discussion

Conclusion

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